Excavating cableway apparatus.



T. S. MILLER.

EXCAVATiNG CABLEWAY APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 4. 19M.

Patented July 4, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

T. S. MILLER.

EXCAVATING CABLEWAY APPARATUS.

APPLICATION min JUNE 4. l9l4.

Patented July 4, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ms Noam: I'ZTERS ca. Momumo" wasmucmm n c T. S. MILLER.

EXCAVATING CABLEWAY APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED lUNE 4. I914.

Patented July 4, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

wi bnwm E STA ES N EXCAVATING CABLEWAY APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 4, 1916.

Application filed June 4, 1914. Serial No. 842,914.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS SPENCER MILLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Excavating Cableway Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in excavating cableway apparatus, and more particularly relates to that type of apparatus including a cable upon which travels a conveying carriage, from which is suspended an open-ended drag bucket, and in which power-operated lines are provided for traversing the carriage along the supporting cable, raising and lowering the drag bucket relative to the carriage and for dragging the bucket through the material to be excavated in order to fill the bucket.

In previous apparatus of the type described, of which I am aware, there has been this objection; namely, that the power 4 means for operating the bucket to drag the same into and through the material being excavated, in order to have the proper pulling power, has necessarily been of low speed so that said apparatus has not been satisfactory, particularly in cableways of long span, because of the fact that the carriage could not be made to move lengthwise of the cable at sufficient speed to make such an apparatus economical. ()n the other hand, when the power means for operating the bucket was constructed to give the desired high speed it necessarily did not have suflicient power to pull the bucket through hard ma terial.

It is therefore the object of my present invention to provide a cableway drag bucket excavating armaratus in which high pulling power will be available to pull the bucket through the material being excavated in order to fill the bucket, and in which the bucket may be made to traverse the cable way at high speed after being loaded, and when being carried to the point of dumping, or after dumping and being returned to be filled.

To the above ends the invention consists in the improvements to be more fully de scribed hereinafter, and the novelty of which W will be particularly pointed out and dis: tinctly claimed.

I have fully and clearly illustrated a pre ferred embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawings to be taken as a part ofthis specification, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a cableway apparatus embodying my present invention. Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a drum engine for operating the traversing lines for the carriage and the hoisting and digging lines for the bucket. Fig. 4 is a plan view of an engine for ex erting a digging pull on the digging line to drag the bucket through the material being excavated. Fig. 5 is a detail view of a tower-shifting means. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the construction shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a view in side elevation of another em bodiment of the same invention, the bucket being elevated in position for dumping. Fig. 8 is a view in side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 7 but in which the bucket is shown in digging position. Fig. S9 is a View of the bucket and bucket-operat- 111g ropes.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, and particularly Fig. 1, the

reference numeral 1 designates a head tower consisting of a platform 2 provided with wheeled-trucks 3 adapted to travel upon trackways 4, l. Rising from this platform 2 is a tower structure 5, upon which are supported the various sheaves and guides for the lines forming part of the cableway. The platform 2 is so constructed as to support the drum engines, to be hereinafter described, for operating the cableway lines. 6 designates a tailtower consisting of a platform 7, from which arises a superstructure 8 for supporting the rope sheaves and guides at the outhaul end of the cableway. The platform 7 is supported on wheeled trucks 7 adapted to travel on trackway 7 which may run parallel to the trackway 4. Stretched between the towers 1 and 6 is a main cable 9, upon which travels a load carriage 10, the latter consisting of a frame of any desired construction and including running wheels 11 adapted to travel upon the main cable 9. This carriage 10 has journaled therein two pairs of grooved pulleys 16 journaled on the tower 1, thence extending across the space between the towers and running parallel to the main cable, the outer end of the outhaul line passing over an upper sheave 17 on the tower 6, thence down about a sheave orgrooved wheel 17 upward from said Wheel 17*, over a sheave 17",

and then reversed upon itself and connected to the carriage as at 18. The function of the wheel 17 will be hereinafter set forth. It will be noted that upon winding the line 14 upon the drum 15 said line 14' will be operated to pull the'carriage toward the tower 6. Connected to the opposite side, of the carriage at 1 9. is one end of the inhaul rope 20, said rope extending over a sheave 21 on the tower 1, from which sheave said rope extends down and is wound upon the drum 15 in the opposite direction from the line 14, so that when said drum is rotatedto take upthe line 14, the line. 20 will be'paid out to permit the carriage to be outhauled, and when the line 20 is wound on the drum 15, by reversal of the drum, the line 14 will be paid out to permit the carriage to be inhauled by said. line 20.

Supported from the carriage 10 is an open-ended drag bucket 22 provided with a suspension frame 22 having journaled therein sheaves 23, 24, located over the forward end of the bucket, and secured to the bottom of the bucket, as at 25, is a flexible connection 26, for instance a chain, carrying at its upper end a frame or yoke 27, in which are journaled sheaves 28, 29. Wound upon one part of a sectional drum 3,0 is a hoisting rope 31, passing from said drum upward over a sheave 32 on the tower 1, whence it passes over the forward sheave 12 on the carriage, around the sheave 23 on the bucket, thence over the other sheave 12 and the sheave 24 in succession and secured to the carriage 10, as at 33. It will be un derstood that by paying out or taking up the rope 31 the forward end of the bucket will be either lowered or raisedaccordingly. Also wound upon the drum 30is a hoisting line 34 passing upward therefrom over spaced sheaves 35, 36, journaled on the head tower, and extending from the sheave 36 over the forward pulley 13 on the carriage, thence around the sheave 28' onthe rear end of the bucket, and the rear pulley 13 on the carriage, and the sheave 29 on the bucket in succession, and having its end secured to the carriage as at 37. By this rope 34 the rear end of the bucket may be raised or lowered. Under normal operation of the apparatus the drum 30 is operated so as to pay out or take up the lines 31 and 34 simultaneously,,so as to raise or lower the bucket, holding, the bottom of the latter substan tially at a level, or in such inclined position as to retain the load therein. The pill leys 35, 36, on the tower are spaced apart a sufiicient distance so as to cause the rope 34 to bridge the space between same and form a loop-forming portion 38, in which is suspended a pulley 39 journaled on the end of a piston 40 of a power cylinder or ram 41 adapted to receive steam or other mo tive agent so; as to lengthen or extend the loop 38 so as to raise the rear end of the bucket independently of the forward end, and thereby dump the load out of the forward end of the bucket. By exhausting the motive agent from the. cylinder 41 the loop will: be let out to permit the rear end of the bucket to gravitate to load carrying position, as shown in Fig. 2.

Secured to the front or open end of the drag bucket 21, as at 42, is a drag line or diggingline 43, the same passing from the bucket overspaced sheaves 44, 45, arranged to turn on parallel axes, mounted on the head tower 1, said line 43 passing from the sheave 45 downward and being wound upon a drum 46. This drum, as will be hereinafter described, is-provided. with means for driving the same at high speed, as are also the drums 15 and 30,.so that the carriage and bucket may be caused to pass at high speed backward and forward on a main cable, the high speed feature beingof great advantage especially in cableways of great length, for instance 1000 or 2000 feet.

The drag'line 43 bridges the space between the sheaves44 and 45, and. highpower means is provided for pulling aloop. in that portion of the drag line bridging said sheaves, so" that when the drum 46 isheld stationary a powerful pull on said loop may be. expended to drag the bucket through the material to. be excavated. This means for ex erting'the pulli on the loop may take a number of forms within the spirit and scope of my invention, but I prefer to employ the following means: Suspended in the loop 47 is asheave wheel 48 connected by a frame 49. with a lower depending sheave 50.

Through this sheave 50 extends a pull rope 51, one end 52 of which is anchored to the platform2, or any other suitable fixed point, while the opposite end is wound upon a power drum 53, which is driven by a motor of such power, and is so geared, that it pref erably exceeds in pulling power the maximum power of the drum 46. By this arrangement the drum 53 will exert the high Pull ngpower on he d g: pe necessary to' drag the bucket through the material to be excavated, even though said material be in the nature of clay or other material which is dislodged with difliculty, and after such pull has been exerted on the bucket the latter may be hoisted by the lines 31 and 34, and the drums 15 and 30 may then be driven at high speed to traverse the bucket along the cableway in one direction or the other, and

the drum 46 may be driven at high speed simultaneously to either take up or pay out the drag line accordingly as the bucket moves toward the head tower or the tail tower.

The construction of the engine for operating the inhaul and outhaul lines and the bucket raising and lowering lines may take a number of different forms, but I prefer to construct it as follows: 54 designates a bed frame upon which are mounted steam-engine cylinders 55, the pistons of which are connected by piston rods, indicated by dot and dash lines to crank disks 56 on a power shaft 57, having thereon a gear 58 meshing with a gear 59 fixed on a shaft 60 journaled in the bed plate. This gear 59 is provided with a friction clutch element 61 adapted to cooperate with a friction element 62 mounted on the end of the drum 15 which revolves upon the said shaft 60, said drum being operable by a thrust 63 of any suitable construction to complete or break the driving connection between the friction clutch elements 61 and 62, whereby the drum is driven or be disconnected from its gear 59 and held stationary by a band brake 64 co6perating with a braking surface 65 on said drum. The brake may be of any suitable construction and operated in any manner to serve the purpose, The gear 58 also meshes with a gear 66 mounted on a shaft 67 ournaled in the bed plate, said gear 66 being provided with a friction clutch face 68 adapted to cooperate with a friction clutch face 69 on the end of the drum 80 which is mounted on said shaft 67. Said drum 30 is preferably provided with an intermediate circumferential flange 7 O to divide the same into two independent rope-receiving surfaces. The drum 30 is movable lengthwise of the shaft 67 by a suitable thrust mechanism 71 to engage the said gear 66, whereby the drum 30 is driven. The drum 30 is provided with a braking surface 72 with which cooperates a band-brake 73, whereby said drum may be held against rotationwhen disconnected from its gear 66. Journaled in the bed plate in advance of the drum 80 and running parallel to the longitudinal axis thereof is a counter-shaft 74 carrying a pinion 75 meshing with said gear 66, and also meshing with .a gear 76 mounted on a shaft 77 journaled inlthe bed plate and rum ning counter to said shaft 74. This gear 76 is provided with a frictionface 78, adapted to coiiperate with'a friction clutch face 79 on the drum 46, said drum 46 being movable lengthwise of the shaft 77 by a suitable -thrust 80 to place said friction faces 78 and 79 in driving engagement, orto relieve such engagement. The drum 46 is provided on its opposite ends with circumferential grooved friction faces81, 81, to receive the correspondingly formed shoes of a friction brake 82 in order that said drum may be held against rotation when disengaged from its driving gear 76. I prefer that the brakes of the drum 46 be made very powerful in order that the same may be effectively held stationary when the drum 53 is operated to pull the loop in the drag line 43 when the bucket is being dragged into and through the material being excavated. It will be seen that the construction and arrangement of the drums is such that any one of them may be driven independently of the others, so that when the drum 15, for operating the inhaul line 20, and the outhaul line 14, is held stationary the drum 30 may be driven to pay out or take up the falls supporting the bucket from the carriage so as to raise or lower the bucket. It will be understood that the engine cylinders are provided with suitable reversible mechanism, not shown,

whereby the drum 15 may be driven in both directions so as to alternately take up and pay out said lines 14 and 20.

I will now describe a preferred form of the high power drum for pulling the loop in the digging line 43 when the bucket is being loaded. This drum engine includes a bed plate 83, upon which are mounted steam engine cylinders 84, the pistons of which (not shown) are connected by piston rods, indicated by dot and dash lines, to crank disks 85 mounted on a power shaft 86 journaled in the bed plate and carrying a pinion 87meshing with a larger pinion 86 on a countershaft 89 carrying a pinion 90 smaller than the pinion 88 and meshing with a large drum-driving gear 91 mounted on a drum shaft 92 journaled in the bed plate and connected to the drum 53, heretofore described, upon which the loop pulling rope 51 is wound. The engine just described is preferably of a high power type, able to exert a pull upon the loop 47 in excess of the maxi= mum pulling force of the high speed drum 46.

In proportioning the speed and pulling power of the two drum engines, I may state, by way of example, that the drum engine for operating the traversing lines and for taking up the drag line may be, and preferably is, designed to have a speed for instance twenty times the speed of the loop-pulling drum engine, while the latter may be designed to have a pulling power five times that of the former, although I desire it understood that the proportions of speed and pulling power may be varied from the proportions stated withont departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

The construction being as above described, the operation of the apparatus is as follows: Assuming that the bucket is in elevated position and located adjacent the head tower 1, and that the drum 53 has been operated to permit the sheaves 48 and 50 to approximate the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the drum 15 is positively driven to take up-the outhaul line 14 and pay out the line 20, thereby causing the carriage with the bucket to proceed toward the tail towerl6. At the same time as the line 14 is being taken up, the drum 30 is operated. to pay out the lines 31 and 34, and the drum 46 is operated to pay out the line 43. When the carriage has reached the point where the digging operation is to take place, the drum 15 is disconnected from its gear-59 and held by the friction brake 62, and the rotation of the drum 30 is continued to permit the bucket 22 to descend into the material to be excavated. When the bucket engages the material, the drums 30 and 46 are also disconnected from-their driving gears andheld by their brakes, whereupon the drum 53 is rotated to pull the loop in the-digging line 43 with a powerful pulling force and thereby drag the bucket through the materialand loading the bucket. It will be understood that the braking power of the brakes 82 must be such that the drum 46 will not be overhauled by the drum 53 when the latter pulls the loop in the drag line 43. When the bucket is loaded the drum 30 may be connected to its gear 66 and driven to hoist the bucket toward the carriage, whereupon the drums 15 and 46 are operated by-their respective thrust mechanisms to connect them with the driving gears 59 and 76, respectively, and the engine is operated to cause the drum 15 to take up the inhaul rope 20 and pay out the outhaul rope 14, and the drum 30- to take up the lines 31 and; 34, thereby causing the carriage to' travel toward the head tower, while the drum 46 operates to take up the slack in the line 43 caused by the inward travel of the carriage. When the car-riagereaches the point where the load is to be dumped the drums are stopped and a motive agent is admitted to the cylinder 41, thereby pulling a loop in the rope 34, which operates to lift the rear end of the bucket to cause theload to be ejected from the forward open end of the bucket.

While I have described the cableway as having the dumping point between the carriage and the head tower, it will be understood that the load may be taken: and then transferred to a dumping point between the load taking point and the tail tower.

I have provided an improved and simplified means for traversing the tail tower along the trackways supporting the same, the same consisting of two drums 93, 94, mounted upon a shaft journaled in a frame 96 mounted on a platform 97 on the tail tower 6. These drums are provided with an intermediate sprocket gear 98 connected by a sprocket chain 99 with a sprocket wheel 100 on driving shaft 101, also journaled in the frame 96, and carrying a friction clutch member 102 adapted to be engaged by a friction clutch face 103 on said pulley wheel or sheave 17 a suitable thrust mechanism 104 being provided to establish and relieve such engagement. Wound upon said drums in opposite directions are the ends of propulsion ropes or cables 105, the opposite ends of said ropes extending in opposite directions from the tail tower and being each rove over a fixed sheave 106, 107,-eand then reversed upon itself and connected to the tower, as at 108, 108. By this arrangement, when it is desired to transport the tail tower, the pulley 17 is connected to the clutch member 102, and the drum 15 may be then driven in one direction orthe other to cause the outhaul rope todrivethepulley 17 and the drums 93, 94, in the desired direction to shift the tail tower. When the tail tower is at rest, the pulley wheel 17* is disconnected from the 1gnember 102 and runsfree from said; mem- In-Figs. 1 to 5 I have shown a cableway in which the main cable may be fixed, and the bucket raised and lowered from the carriage without changing the trajectory of the main cable, but in Figs. 7 and 8, I have shown a construction in which the sup porting cable is lowered to bring the bucket to digging position and raised when the bucket is to be traversed and dumped. In said Figs. 7 and 8, 109 designates a head tower, but; 110 is a main cable, connected at one end to a fixed anchorage, as at 111, and at the opposite end by a running connection 112to the head tower, one end of the running-connection being anchored to the head of the tower, and the rope 113 extending to a, drum'114 by means of which said connection may be operated to raise and lower the main cable. 115 designates a carriage supported on and movable lengthwise of the maincable, and from which is suspended an open-ended drag bucket 116 for digging and carrying the load; The bucket (see Fig. 9) in this form of the invention is provided with a bail 117 suspended from the carriage by a line 118 passing over a sheave 119 on the carriage and connected to the rear-end of thebucket, as at 120. A line 121 is connected at one end to the rear end of the bucket, as at 122, and extends over a sheave 123 on the carriage and forward of the bucket where it passes over a sheave 124 connected to a drag line 125, and is connected to a sheave 126 traveling on the main cable and adapted to support the drag line from the main cable and to cooperate with av button 127 adjacent the point ofdump. Forward of the block 124, the'drag line has a split connection, one member 128 of which is connected to the forward end of the bucket, as at 129, and the other member 130 of which passes over a sheave on the carriage alongside the sheave 119 and is connected to the line 118. The drag line extends from the bucket over a sheave 131 on the head tower, thence downward therefrom to provide a loop 132, and then over a pulley 133 on the head tower, whence said rope passes down to a drum 134. Supported in the loop 132 is a sheave 135 connected to a piston 136 of a steam power cylinder or ram 137, the piston of which is drawn into the cylinder by a motive agent, for instance steam, in order to pull the loop 132 to exert a strong pulling force upon the drag bucket. It will be understood that the drum 114, heretofore described, is a high speed drum of comparatively low power, while the dimensions of the cylinder or ram 137 are such as to exert a pulling force on the loop in excess of the maximum pulling power of said drum. By this arrangement a powerful pulling force may be exerted on the bucket in order to pull the same through the material when digging and after the bucket has been filled the running connection 112 is taken up to raise the cable to the position shown in Fig. 7. It will be understood that while the digging operation is taking place under pull of the steam cylinder the drum 114 is held under brake so as not to be overhauled by the predominating power of the steam cylinder. When digging has been completed and the cableway with the bucket raised, the drum 114 is then released from its brake and run at high speed to convey the load to the head of the tower. When the bucket reaches the point of dump the sheave 126 hits the button 127 and being arrested in its movement causes the line 121 to travel faster than the lines 128 and 130, so that the rear end of the bucket is tilted and the dumping effected.

When the bucket gravitates down the cable to the digging point, the line 121 is slacked oif when the block 126 recedes from the button 127, which permits the rear end of the bucket to be lowered to position to dig. The line 130 upon initial pull of the drag line pulls up on the line 118 and the bail 117 to lift the open end of the bucket. In this form of the invention the relative speed and pulling power of the drum 134 j end on the tower 6, and passing at its other end over the sheave 140 on the tower 1, and carrying a tension weight 141.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In an excavating apparatus, a suspended cable or trackway, a carriage to travel thereon, an open ended drag bucket supported from said carriage, a drag line connected to said bucket, a drum for exerting a transporting pull on the open end of said drag line, and independent means between said drum and bucket for exerting a digging pull on said drag line in excess of the pulling power of the said drum.

2. In an excavating apparatus, a suspended cable or trackway, a carriage to travel thereon, a drag bucket suspended from the carriage, a drag line connected to the bucket, a high-speed low-power drum for taking up said drag line, and a highpower means independent of the said drum and between the latter and the bucket for exerting a pull on said drag line.

3; In an excavating apparatus, a suspended cable or trackway, a carriage to travel thereon, a drag bucket suspended from the carriage, a drag line connected to the bucket, a high-speed drum for taking up said drag line, and a high-power means for pulling a loop in said drag line, said means having power in excess of the said high-speed drum.

4. In an excavating apparatus, a sus pended cable or trackway, a carriage to travel thereon, a drag bucket suspended from the carriage, a drag-line connected to the bucket, a drum for taking up said drag line, a loop in the drag line, a member in the loop and carrying a rope guide, a second drum and a rope extended through said rope guide and having one end wound on said drum and the other end anchored.

5. In an excavating apparatus, a suspended cable or trackway, a carriage to travel thereon, a drag bucket suspended from the carriage, a drag-line connected to the bucket, low power take-up means for taking up said drag-line at relatively high speed, means for holding said means stationary and preventing outward movement of said line therefrom, and high power means independent of the said, take-up means for exerting a pull on said drag-line. In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS SPENCER MILLER. Witnesses:

ERNEST PnLsroRn, LOUIS G. RUGGLES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained to! five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of 2mm. Washington, D. 0."

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,189,605, granted July 4, 1916,

upon the application of Thomas Spencer Miller, of South Orange, New Jersey, for

an improvement in Excavating Cableway Apparatus, errors appear in the printed specification requiring correction as follows: Page 3, line 99, for the referonce-numeral 86 read 88; page 5, line 71, claim 1, before the WOIC said insert the Words the open end of; same page and claim, lines '7273, strike out the Words the open end of; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case inthe Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 22d day of August, A. D., 1916. v

F W. H. CLAY,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

[SEAL] 

